Pages

30 June 2012

I went hunting for the very first Web Finds this morning, although it wasn't called Web Finds back in July 2009, they were random posts normally titled 'From the web' with all of two posts or more in it!

Whilst hunting for the first post I realised that last Saturday was the 3rd anniversary of me joining the Philofaxy team! And today... is Laurie's 3rd anniversary of being a full time member of the team, although if you look back through the archives Laurie had contributed some guest posts before then.

This week I'm pleased to say isn't as insane as the 50 odd links we had last week but still a respectable number!

I've also included a couple of GTD video's although not directly Filofax related, I'm sure the 43 folders idea could be adapted for a work Filofax.

We start with a very very special post that I insist you all read.....

28 June 2012

Well, my three month trial of the A5 size is now over and I've moved back down to personal. As mentioned in my previous post, I had planned to finish it all off in a logical way, but a couple of things came up that brought it to a quicker and easier conclusion. I normally only use one of the penloops on my A5 Malden, but decided I wanted an extra pen one day and found it got stuck. I think part of the loop's lining had come unstuck and then re-stuck to itself, and I couldn't seem to fix it myself. Then I contacted City Organiser to ask if they might have the purple personal Maldens back in stock by the time I was visiting, and the surprise answer was that they had two available, but I'd have to ring the shop to purchase one. I'm not a religious person, but I just felt like the universe was trying to tell me something here! On the same day, I returned my A5 and rang up to purchase the personal size instead, with City Organiser putting the smoother version aside for me.

For ages, I've been telling myself I don't need a purple filofax. I know many people have multiple binders, but I want just one and suddenly I realised that it made sense to get the one I really want and be done with it. Despite enjoying the extra paper size of the A5, I'm relieved to be back to the personal size as I was able to carry my new filo around with me all day and still fit lots of other things in my bag.

It was love at first sight, I'm delighted to say.

It doesn't yet lay flat (like my other Maldens), but I'm willing to be patient as it's both a Malden and purple.

27 June 2012

[Full Disclosure: We would like to thank Claire at SlamPr for arranging the loan of this Filofax Organiser for us to review.]

This was the first time I had been able to handle and examine a Holborn in some detail and get beyond the first impression in a shop. In this review I'm comparing it alongside my own Filofax Malden personal organiser in Ochre.

The leather of the Holborn is very similar to that of the Malden, both being described as 'Buffalo Leather' But the Malden does feel more supple and soft. I think this is down to the differences in the interior design, which we will come to in a moment.

The Holborn is a more matt finish than the Malden, I think the difference between the two shows up quite noticeable in these exterior photographs.

The Holborn has uses a smaller clasp compared to the Malden, it is the same size and design as used in a Finsbury and other similar leather Filofax organisers.

Whilst the design of the Holborn from certain angles looks plainer than the Malden, but overall they are balanced because of the way they have added the cover over the spine and the stitching details included.

When looked at from above you can see that the Holborn is slightly squarer in profile compared to the Malden. Both of the Holborn and Malden personal organisers are fitted with 23 mm (internal) diameter rings.

Internally the Holborn reminds me very much of the Cuban in it's internal design. It has the same number of card slots and the pocket layouts.

There are slot pockets on the outside and inside on the left hand side. On the right hand side there is a slot pocket and a zip pocket as well. The single pen loop is a leather and is elasticated

If the need for multiple pockets for holding tickets and documents are you requirement then the Holborn Personal will not disappoint, although the converse will be 'now which pocket did I put my theatre tickets in' could be an issue!

One interesting observation, which might convince you I need to get out more... I could not find a quality control mark anywhere on the Holborn. If you have ever got your magnifying glass out and looked closely at your Filofax personal organiser, you will normally find this on the inside of the leather clasp.

Here is the one on the Malden, 'SEW' in this particular case. I will one day list the codes on all of my Maldens, I will get my coat!

I enjoyed my short time with the Holborn, if it wasn't for the Malden I would certainly consider the Holborn as a suitable and comparable Filofax Organiser.

Amanda at Paper Pens and Ink also recently did a review about her Holborn. And you can see pictures of Zoe's pair of Holborns on her blog

Again thank you to Claire at Slam PR for arranging the loan of this Filofax personal organiser.

25 June 2012

A big thank you to Nikki for sending this Guest Post in to us, you might recall her A5 Filofax that she shared with us a few months ago.

I am about to go to England for a couple of weeks, and have to move into my pocket for my travel, due to size and weight restrictions on my flight (my A5 weighs a ton!!)

But I cannot go with just ordinary pages in my pocket, I have to personalize it a bit, as much as my time will allow, or it will not feel like “home”

So whilst I was about it, I thought I would share a quick page marker I made today;

I went onto publisher, and set up an illustration I liked, and sized it to the same size as the regular pocket ruler/page marker, mirrored the image, and printed it out on ordinary A4 paper.

Then marked and cut out a piece of transparent flyleaf type acetate the same size as the page marker.

I place the acetate over the image and draw around with a pencil, and cut out my images to size as below

I then cut out the two images and l glue them onto the acetate with a glue stick. Then cut a piece of sticky back plastic , roughly the same size, and obviously double the width, mark up where the holes need to be (as I do not own a pocket hole punch so have to punch the holes individually) and proceed to ‘wrap’ the page marker in the sticky back plastic.

Then all that remains is to trim off the excess sticky film, hole punch, cut a line from the centre of the hole to the outside, trim off the corners, et voila!

A new pretty page marker

Hope you understand the instructions, I am off on holiday so any questions………..ask Steve ha ha ha

Only joking. Will be checking in. Could definitely not go 2 weeks without visiting Philofaxy, might miss something crucially important!!!!!!!

Thank you Nikki, so easy when you see it explained like that...I'm sure there will be a few people heading off now to create their own stylish page markers.

24 June 2012

After sticking to a rather dull routine for a couple of years, I've started changing things again. For a long time, I used 3 Finsburys: Black A5 for work (DPP, supplemented by A5 spiral notebooks); Red Personal (also DPP) as my wallet and personal organizer; Turquoise Pocket (2DPP) for diet and exercise records. I've already tweaked things a couple times this year, but in keeping with my standard rule of only changing my system once every 6 months, I've settled on a setup that I will use for the 2nd half of 2012.

After all, July 1 is a new year of sorts, isn't it? It's when academic year planners typically begin!

Today I'll start with my Work A5:

I found I really wasn't making full use of the DPP business diary. Some days had nothing written on the page. Yet it was the DPP diary that was keeping me in the boring Black Finsbury with its 1.25" rings. I barely had room for the diary, A-Z tabs, and a few pages of notes. I switched to Wo2P (the vertical format for appointments) and could finally start using the beautiful Cherry Classic that I'd bought at the New York Meet Up in 2011 and I'd be able to organize my work better with tabs.

So far, this is working out really well. I have the diary first, with the following tabs:

Daily: The quick to-do list I jot down first thing in the morning after reviewing all my projects. These are things that really need to be done on that particular day; certain phone calls made; work handed in; forms filled out. I use salmon lined paper in this section.

Projects: One To-Do page labeled at the top for each project. Additional pages of notes and To-Do pages go behind it. The tasks I record here often have multiple steps; the Daily lists are where I break down the individual steps. For example, one Project step might be "get contract signed," a task that may involve several phone calls and emails, spread over a number of days.

Meetings: The notes I take during meetings. After a meeting, a spend a few minutes adding any tasks that come up during the meeting to my project lists. I still try to review my meeting notes a couple of times a week.

A-Z tabs: My primary work contacts. These are people for whom I need to know multiple phone numbers and their mailing addresses, not those whom I work with by email only. Those don't need to exist anywhere outside my computer's address book. I also keep reference information behind the tabs. For example, a page of insurance information might go behind the IJ tab.

The A5 also holds a white ruled notepad in the back, a sticky notes card (the same one that also fits into a Personal organizer), a business card holder, and a pocket for receipts for business related expenses.

I have a metal punch for the A5, so I can move pages from an A5 notebook into the organizer, which I don't do as often as I used to. But it's really nice to have the option.

Filofax UK (SlamPR) have set several bloggers a Holiday Essentials Challenge. I have entered the challenge on behalf of Philofaxy.

In the post this week came my briefing document and three shiny new Filofax personal organisers. A Metropol, a Domino and a Swift.

With these three Filofax personal organisers I've been set the task of creating three 'mood boards' with a 'holiday essentials' theme in mind.

I've never done anything quite like this before, so there was a bit of head scratching and deep thought required as to what other items to choose to go with each organiser.

With a bit of help from Alison (the hand of Philofaxy!) we managed to make a suitable list and gather things together for me to photograph them on a suitable plain background.

I then spent most Saturday afternoon cropping the photos and assembling the three images that I need to send off to Slam PR this week. Once they have received all of the images they will be uploading them from 3rd July - 16th July on to the Filofax Facebook page for all Filofax fans to see and enjoy.

When mine are posted on Facebook, I will of course share them with you here as well... I know not everyone has a Facebook account..

And some time in the week beginning 16th July I will run a small quiz/competition to win one of the Filofax personal organisers I've used for the photo shoot. They are back in their original packing and have a full set of inserts untouched in each one.

Print this double-sided. If you have a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. If you don't then you'll have to print odd-numbered pages and then refeed to print the even-numbered pages on the reverse. You might have to experiment to find out how to refeed the paper.

On one side of each sheet you'll find crop marks. Use a craft knife and a steel ruler to release the Pocket pages and punch them. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

If using the PDF be sure to set it to print at full size as explained here.

23 June 2012

Thanks to Susan's organizational skills, philofaxers from New York (and Boston) met for a 3rd time on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan's Midtown East. We had a good mix of old faithfuls and brand-new faces: Susan, Sheila, Pat, Jenna, Michele, Raquel, and Nan.

We spent an hour or so in Sam Flax, checking out not only Filofax organizers and Flex by Filofax, but also Kate Spade organizers and lots of cool gift items. The Personal, Compact, and Pocket were the popular sizes of the day, and everyone was captivated by colors, notably a bright orange Metropol (I think) that Pat took home for her daughter. Susan and Michelle were pining for the Osterley, but there were none in stock.

I was looking for a change from the red Finsbury I've been using for a few years, and found a stunning steel-blue* Cuban that, once I had in my hands, I could not bear to put back in the display case.

Then we retreated to our usual restaurant, Le Pain Quotidien, for their delicious sandwiches, baked goods, and other light dishes. After dinner, I brought out some Blue Bear items that someone sent me a few years ago when she decided to stop using 6-ring organizers. Happily, some of them have found new homes. There'll be more next time!

Yes, we did make a pile. I didn't take photos myself, but we had plenty of photographers, including a professional one, so I expect we'll see some pictures soon!

Your blog post could appear here next week if we missed you this
time around. Email us the details and we will include it if we can.

We can't guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is
a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read
other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints
and tips. Don't forget to give your posts a title...

And here is this weeks Video Finds

This weeks web finds have been brought to you with the assistance of my sophisticated machine that I call Gromit. He's slightly more up to date than the character you see in the following videos...

22 June 2012

Solstice was this week, with the longest days in the northern hemisphere and the shortest days in the southern hemisphere. I love the changing daylight hours, and I appreciate them that much more after spending more than a year in the tropics with no seasonal variation in daylight hours at all--just 12 and 12 year round. I love the looooooong summer days!

Speaking of changes, how has your Filofax usage changed lately? Have you recently changed sizes, formats or tabbed sections?

And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything Filofax-related!

21 June 2012

So this is a 'calling notice' for people who would like to attend the next Philofaxy Meet Up in London. This is not the Conference/Convention mentioned in my post earlier this week.

Please read all of the post before you apply for a place on the meet up. Places are limited in numbers.

When and Where

The date of the meet up is Saturday 22nd September 2012 and we will meet initially at 12 noon at Tate Modern which is at Bankside on the South Bank of the Thames.

We will be eating at Cafe 2 which is at the western end of the building (See map at foot of this post)

The menu for Cafe2 is quite varied and in the past we have found it quite reasonably priced. It is easier for us if you bring cash for the meal, generally we just split the bill by the number of people eating, although it will be possible to pay for exactly what you ordered plus your share of the service charge.

During the meal there will be plenty of time for chatting and sharing Filofax organisers...

Then we will take a walk across the river to City Organiser who have kindly agreed to open their shop for us on the Saturday afternoon... in fact Andy will be joining us for lunch at Tate Modern.

Our meet up will finish at about 5:30pm

How to book a place on the meet up

To get a place on the meet up you need to email: steve[at]philofaxy[dot]com and mark your email September 2012 London Meetup but not before9am (UK time) tomorrow Friday 22 June 2012. Please only request a place if you are 99% certain that you will be able to attend on the 22nd I'm hoping this time to have full attendance.

Once all ten places are assigned additional names will be added to a reserve list, in case anyone has to drop out of the meet up between the 12th and 22nd September.

As places are allocated you will receive an email back again confirming your place on the meet up.

Please do not book travel tickets etc until you have a confirmed place. I will attempt to confirm places within 2-3 hours of receiving your email.

Should you be unsuccessful in booking a place on this particular meet up in September there is a strong likelihood that there will be another meet up in November the date is as yet to be confirmed.

Once we have our full list of people, we will exchange email addresses and if you aren't familiar with London you might be able to get someone to meet you at the station you are arriving at.

Your safety on the day and your enjoyment on the day is of paramount importance to me, so don't be afraid to ask any questions by email, I want everyone who attends to get the most from the day.

I'm going to be staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Southwark Street, just behind Tate Modern. If you are going to be staying over night in London either on the Friday night or Saturday night then I'm sure we can meet up for dinner or a drink somewhere.

Thank you... any questions?

[Update] All places are now allocated for this meet up, but I'm still adding to the reserve list

20 June 2012

I recently went away for a long week end, and as I was going around collecting up the last bits and pieces to pack, I picked up my A5 Malden in one hand and realised just how big it is.

My personal Malden wasn't available as it was waiting to be sold

Somehow, it seemed a bit ridiculous to take away such a large binder with me for three nights, so I left it behind. And boy, did I miss it. I don't know about you, but my filofax is normally within easy reach when I'm at home, so it was very strange to be without it. I went away for a week last Christmas and my personal was in my bag straightaway without any thought.

So, a little doubt has crept in... and it's that old chestnut of what is the perfect size? I purchased an A5 for the extra space and at the time very rarely took my personal out and about with me. However, it seems that now I've decided on A5 I can see more opportunities for when I'd like to have a filo with me. For example, I'm going to London to attend the Dalai Lama's talk at the Royal Albert Hall (yay), and fancy using mine on the train journeys and to take the odd note in. I'm just not so sure I want to carry my A5 around with me the whole day. Also, I'm visiting Malaysia for three weeks next year and I really can't see myself taking this size away either.

Maybe I'm asking a lot, but I want one filofax that does it all! I think I'll write down the pros and cons of each size, and maybe set a deadline to review how I've found the A5 size. Maybe it's good that I didn't sell my personal Malden and for the time being, I'm going to put it away until I make a final decision. Alternatively, visiting City Organiser on the same day as the talk will be a good opportunity to maybe consider a purple pocket Malden or imperial purple Finchley as a wallet.

I have a suspicion that personal may be the happy medium between portability and paper size with owning just the one binder, but I could also now see myself owning two for the best of both worlds. I'm sure many of you more experienced owners have experienced this, but I suppose I didn't expect this to happen so soon after deciding to upgrade from personal to A5. Oh, choices, choices!

18 June 2012

Thank you for all your lovely comments about last months Philofaxy Meet Up it was a great day, I love looking back on these very special days, especially if it's raining outside... it brings some sunshine in to my life and makes me smile remembering the comments and things we enjoyed talking about on the day.

So looking to the future.... I still want to do these sort of
meet ups with up to about 12 people, they are very personal and great fun, so if you haven't been to one yet, don't despair I'm not thinking of stopping doing the small meet ups, there is already one planned for September 2012 and the possibility of another in November.

However, my original idea back in
2010 of a convention for a larger group of people now looks like
something we could do, if there enough people interested in such a bigger event. In total about 26 different people have attended the London meet ups, with new people attending each one so far.

So I have had some discussion with a few people about a convention/conference idea,
so here are my notes.

Event to be open to everyone, may be up to 100 people,
likely to be held in London, but I'm open to other suggestions. Ideally it will be somewhere where we can do a complete package of the conference and accommodation as well. Ideally it needs to be accessible from most parts of UK, Europe and even further afield... yes that means you readers in the USA and Canada and South America.

People would pay to attend the event, but discount would be
given for early booking. I have no idea yet on what the cost per person would be. This is something I'm actively working on at the moment.

However it is intended that the fee would include lunch and refreshments, conference bag or
similar with notes etc. etc.

Sessions to include guest presentations, open discussion
session, Filofax focus group session, social meet up sessions. The social side of this conference is very important, putting faces to names (comment name, twitter name, Skype name etc)

We would be seeking sponsorship from companies such as City Organiser, DodoPad, The Pen Shop, Filofax UK with them being able to sell stock at the conference and add publicity material/goodies to the conference packs etc. And these companies would also be encouraged to take part in the conference with presentations etc.

Possible target date early 2013

The above is a very basic outline of the idea, if there is
sufficient interest (and I hope there is) then we can get in to
the details of what the event will include.

Print this double-sided. If you have a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. If you don't then you'll have to print odd-numbered pages and then re-feed to print the even-numbered pages on the reverse. You might have to experiment to find out how to re-feed the paper.

The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

If using the PDF be sure to set it to print at full size as explained here.Source files

16 June 2012

Our friends in New York are meeting up today... but next week there is a Mid-West meet up in Chicago here is the itinerary for the event.

Noon - 1:30 p.m.: Meet at Mancini's Pizza, Pasta, Cafe @ 1111
Lake Street in Oak Park. That gives us a bit of time if anyone is late,
I've also added more time because I'm sure we'll need it with all of the
Filo sharing!

1:30 - 2:15 p.m.: Walk over to Paper Source @ 1109
Lake Street in Oak Park. Proceed to restrain me from buying the entire
store! I've slotted 45 minutes here- we might not need all of this time,
but I'd rather put too much than be rushing around!

2:15 - 3
p.m.: Walk down to Fitzgerald's Fine Stationery @ 1100 W. Lake Street in
Oak Park. Again, I'm not sure if we'll need a full 45 minutes, but
between walking there and browsing the Filo selection, it should be a
good starting point!

That should be it! These
three places are all literally within 200 feet of each other, so we'll
only have to park once which is good since parking downtown Oak Park can
be a bit of a hassle.

If there are any questions, or if any of this doesn't work, let me know. Otherwise, I'm super excited!!!

Your blog post could appear here next week if we missed you this
time around. Email us the details and we will include it if we can.

We can't guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is
a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read
other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints
and tips. Don't forget to give your posts a title...

15 June 2012

Happy early Father's Day!
I gave my Dad a burgundy Winchester for his birthday, and wasn't too sure how keen he would be as he's a great fan of his Blackberry. Luckily, he loved it and posted this picture on Facebook with the comment 'Dad the Filofax Man'!

Do any of your Dads or relatives use filofaxes?

As usual, please feel free to discuss anything filofax related or ask any questions you may have.

14 June 2012

I'm setting up my Orchid Aston as my new Life In Scotland Filofax. The heather-purple color reminds me of the Scottish hillsides in August!

While setting things up, I had an idea to fold a lined page lengthwise so I could use it for my weekly lists without obscuring my view of the rest of the week:

My apologies to anyone who has already posted about this, I'm only just now figuring it out!

The reason I normally don't put a page between my weekly pages is I need to see my entire week at once. This way I can have a weekly list, and still see the entire week. By folding the page over, I can still have the entire page for my lists, and use the back of the page to record notes, expenditures, etc. When the week is over, I can unfold the page to reduce bulk and leave it between the week's pages as a record of what I did.

The photo above and below show a Cotton Cream lined page between Cotton Cream weekly pages. The only problem with this setup is that the holidays in the Cotton Cream weekly pages are printed at the middle of the book, so they are covered up by the half-page.

I also happen to have this year's weekly insert in the white pages, which prints the holidays on the outside of the page, under the day names:

This allows holidays to be visible all week and not covered up by the half page.

I can still easily access the back of the lined page. I could even fold it over the other way for access to that side of the page in the second half of the week.

13 June 2012

1500 published posts in just under seven years, it's quite a mile stone really.

The 1500th was the post this morning about the Alice Temperley announcement. However, we are not sitting back, there are plenty more posts in the pipeline and other ideas to expand our community and share our knowledge amongst you all.

On behalf of the team, thank you all for your continued support, without that we wouldn't have written so many posts I don't think!

Filofax have announced their continued collaboration with leading British designer Alice Temperley with a second range of accessible luxury organisers. Due to be unveiled in time for London Fashion Week S/S 2013, the new ‘Temperley for Filofax’ collection is set to stylishly organise your season.

“I’m so pleased to be partnering with Filofax again to create a second collection, especially following the amazing response we received from the limited edition styles earlier on in the year. A Filofax is much more than just a diary, for me it’s a place to collect inspiration, write my endless lists and juggle my life. I wanted to turn it into an accessory which can accompany you anywhere; from day meetings to nights out with friends. It’s a busy world and still so important to write things down” says Alice Temperley, MBE

The new collection, designed to provide users with a private space for creativity and ideas, introduces two new beautiful organisers: Violet and Ikat. As with any of Alice’s designs, she has looked at the way she uses a Filofax and taken inspiration from her forthcoming collections to create two exquisite organisers which combine style with functionality. The collection which effortlessly works with the looks of the season, incorporates two diverse and striking designs – from the bold print of the Ikat to the colourful luxury leather of the Violet, there is an organiser to help every fashionista capture the minutiae and inspirations of daily life.

Gordon Presly, CEO of the Filofax Group, comments,

“At Filofax, we’re consistently looking to showcase our design capabilities and this new collection by Alice does just that. In this fast paced digital age, we’ve found that the importance and simple pleasure of making handwritten notes is very significant to our consumers, so we are looking forward to launching this collection of organisers that offers Temperley’s iconic British style at affordable price points.”

Temperley for Filofax, consisting of the Violet and Ikat, will be available nationwide and online from September 2012 in pocket and personal sizes, priced £45 - £165.

12 June 2012

Tuesday is the day when you get to ask questions and we do our best to answer them... When I say 'we' that is all of the Philofaxy readers, they often beat me to answering some of the questions! But that is the great thing about Philofaxy, we all help each other.

So what ever your question, no matter how obscure it is... Can I fit my Mini Filofax pages in my new A5 Filofax (yes you can!) or where can I buy xyz in purple in pocket size... then this is just the place to ask the question.

So don't hang back, fire away, and remember you can keep asking questions on this post even after Tuesday.

Andy Morse from City Organiser will also be joining us for lunch,
he has over 25 years of experience in retailing Filofax products.

Now before you all get excited about booking tickets etc.... Places for
this meet up will have to be confirmed. But I will not be accepting
requests to join the meet up until 22ndJune, this is to avoid
the situation where people reserve a place and then pull out at the last
minute which then doesn't allow someone else the chance of a place at
the meet up.

Hopefully by introducing this delay, you will be able to get the date
cleared in your diary/planner and then when you request your place on or
after the 22 June, you will know that you have a confirmed place and
hopefully you will definitely be attending. Of course there might still
be some form of family emergency or other on the day that might prevent
your attendance I know.

I will send out a reminder closer to the 22 June for people to get
their requests in after that date and which email address to send your
requests to.

Once places have been assigned then I will send out full details about the arrangements for the day. If you have never attended a meet up before and you would like more information please email us and I will try to answer your questions philofaxy [at] gmail [dot] com

Your blog post could appear here next week if we missed you this
time around. Email us the details and we will include it if we can.

We can't guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips

08 June 2012

I was asked this week 'How big will Webfinds be on Saturday Steve' ..... I replied "Not as big as last week I don't think...."

Of course I never know, these things just build and build during the week. It never stops surprising me that I keep finding new blogs to share with you, sometimes it's just the occasional post, but they all get logged and monitored on my growing blog list! And then once it is published I start the whole process again... but you know I never get bored for looking at all the posts we find! Part of the love of Philofaxy.

So do you read all of the blog posts we find or are you selective based on the title?

Of course as it is a Friday you are free to discuss anything Filofax related.

07 June 2012

Hello! I am pleased to participate in Philofaxy's Readers Under the Spotlight!

Ever since I was a little kid I loved pens, notebooks, planners, and anything related to office supplies.

Going back to school in the fall was not fun, but shopping at Staples was SO exciting. I loved picking out my purple trapper keeper (what the "cool" kids were using back then) and folders to go inside of it- Lisa Frank's puppies, kittens, and dolphins, of course! Does anyone remember Lisa Frank?

Anyways, I live with my family in Massachusetts. I love the beach, going on hikes, travelling, and pulling out my Filofax to jot things down wherever I go.

1. When did you buy your first Filofax and what was it?

My first Filofax was purchased a few years ago and I can't remember what it was. It was one with a cloth-like cover on clearance at Marshals. The next Filofax I purchased after that was last year, and it was a purple personal Finsbury.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I have used: Franklin Covey- three different binders with Jean Chatzky inserts, Moleskine planner, Staples planner, Mom agenda, Erin Condren Life Planner, Barnes and Noble planner, the dot.mine day planners family_time.mine and time_mine, Arc system by Staples, Lilly Pulitzer and many others that I just can't remember. I'm a total planner addict... seriously!

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

I love the Erin Condren planner for many reasons- the colors and amount of space, the stickers, and built-in goodies. I love the dot.mine family planner because it has lots of family related sections inside of it. But my favorite is my Filofax Malden. I love the Personal Malden. The ability to customize my Filofax in any way that I want is what keeps it at the top of my list. I always go back to it.

06 June 2012

LeBonCoin.fr is the French equivalent of the "classified ads" section of a newspaper : people can place ads for... anything, cars, appartments, and so on. There's no payment system included in the website (unlike ebay), there are just ads, with 3 pictures max, a small description, and it's sorted geographically, by "département". Usually, you can get in touch with the seller by phone or email, and you agree together of the form of payment, and shipment, if that is the case, or you agree to meet in person, and exchange to goods, against cash.

By the way, I am not affiliated in any way with leboncoin.fr, it's just that I'm French and living in France, and this website is used by lots of people.

As any of you, I browse Ebay from time to time, and it can be fun to find models that were previously unknown to me : had you ever heard of a zipped compact Portobello ? Or a personal Ranger ? I hadn't... ! And it's strange, but I had never really thought of browsing leboncoin.fr for good Filofax deals...

But please be warned : people who use this website sometimes aren't... Internet-litterate, you will find lots of typos/grammar mistakes (and it's in
French, obviously), the pics are not always helpful (sometimes blurry, and/or too small...); and regarding people selling Filofaxes, you will not always find the exact name model (or any name, for that matter). If you like digging around, that can be fun and surprising.

So, how do you search theses Filofax on this website ? First, load up http://www.leboncoin.fr/ in your browser. Then click any part on the map, because whichever "département" you choose, the next screen will have a drop-down menu allowing you to search an item in the whole of France.

Don't bother with a complex search : "filofax" will do the trick just fine. You can then sort the results by price (lowest to highest) and then, you might have some interesting suprises.

- a Pocket Siena in cinnamon, 60 euros (retails for 140 on filofax.de but currently
on sale at 98 euros...)

And so on...

I am currently trying to get the M2, and perhaps the Deskfax, as I am curious about these sizes, but perhaps some other French readers of Philofaxy might like to score some of these items for themselves ?